A man found a pearl that could be worth $4,000 in his $14.95 oyster meal

Earlier this month, a man named Rick Antosh found a pearl in his oyster meal at Grand Central Oyster Bar.

At first, Antosh thought he’d lost a tooth or a filling.

A pearl expert has estimated the value of the pearl to be between $US2,000 and $US4,000.

So far, Antosh hasn’t decided whether or not he wants to sell the pearl, but he does want to return to the restaurant to try his luck again.

Eating in a restaurant usually means money coming out of your pocket, but in this case, it seems it’s the other way around. According to the New York Post, a New Jersey man found a pearl inside of his $US14.95 oyster pan roast at the Grand Central Oyster Bar earlier this month, and it could be worth thousands.

As the man, Rick Antosh, told the Post, originally, he thought he’d lost a tooth or a filling when he bit down on something hard, but to his surprise, it was a pea-sized pearl with a black spot on it. In a press release from the restaurant (via Gothamist), Antosh said, “For a nano-second I thought I had lost a filling or a tooth, but, holy crap, it is a pearl!”

“This isn’t Joe’s Steakhouse. It’s the most famous oyster place in the United States,” Antosh told the Post. “I [assumed] it doesn’t happen often, but figured it happens at times.”

Although he didn’t say anything to the restaurant before he left, later, he was curious and called them to find out how often people find pearls in their food. The answer? As executive chef Sandy Ingber said, in the 28 years he’s worked at Grand Central Oyster Bar, this was only the second time he’d seen this happen.

The pearl could be worth a few thousand dollars

iStockThe pearl has an estimated value of $US2,000 to $US4,000.

And as Eddie Livi, who owns DSL Pearl, told the site, the pearl could end up netting Antosh a few thousand dollars should he decide to part with it.

“Value is based on lustre, clarity, and roundness,” Livi said. “It is not very round and has a black spot that may or may not be removable. [For] something in this condition, a dealer who really wants it, ballpark, may pay $US2,000 to $US4,000.”

So far, Antosh hasn’t decided what his next move will be, beyond returning to Grand Central Oyster Bar to try his luck again.

“I will definitely come back and try to find more pearls. You never know,” Antosh told the New York Post.